The Official Creditor Committee has apparently given the Ghanaian government the go-ahead for the term agreement, allowing the IMF Executive Board to disburse the second tranche of the $3 billion extended credit facility, which consists of $600 million.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta corroborated the story, saying, “We are receiving the draft term sheet today, so I think we are about done.”
“We will look into the details, but then it’s good enough for the IMF to continue with their work, so we’re in good shape.”
For the purposes of the first review under the $3 billion ECF program, Ghana just needs to get an agreement in principle before requesting approval from the IMF Board for the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) dated October 6, 2023.
The second distribution of $600 million will be made possible within days with the approval of the IMF Board.
In October, Abebe Selassie, the Director of the IMF for Africa, acknowledged Ghana’s outstanding advancements and confirmed that the country had fulfilled its responsibility.
He explained that “I have to tell you that whereas it took something like nine months or more for Zambia to get the official creditor committee to be created, in Ghana’s case, it was fairly rapid, adding that, “Ghana has done its fair share and it’s for the creditors to take steps.”
However, Leandro Medina, the IMF’s Resident Representative for Ghana, stated that talks between Ghana and its formal creditors were making “promising progress.”
‘’IMF Board approval is expected to further “trigger” World Bank Funding to the tune of $550 million. The Bank has pledged $300 million in budgetary support and another $250 million toward Ghana’s Financial Stability Fund.
According to a statement, “all of these funds are expected before the end of February 2024, with a strong and positive effect expected on Ghana’s reserve position and exchange rate stability.”
